MUFI HANNEMANN

What this episode covers

Mayor Mufi Hanneman runs a billion dollar institution with 10,000 employees. His customers comprise three-fourths of Hawaii’s population which owns more than half of the state’s taxable assets. His office is the city and county of Honolulu. Listen to this exclusive Greater Good Radio interview with Mayor Mufi Hanneman as he talks about his mission and vision for the state capital, particularly the revitalization of Chinatown to recognize the city’s rich Chinese and Southeast Asian heritage. “I want to continue to emphasize the Chinese cultural heritage,” Mr. Hanneman said. “Not only the Chinese that have been here for a long time, but recognizing the Southeast Asian group of Chinese that are moving here in great numbers.” He also shares with us his involvement, during the start of his political career, in the White House Fellows programs, which gives young Americans an opportunity to work in the nation’s capital, plus, his purpose for putting together Pacific Century Fellows program focusing on building tomorrow’s leaders. Find out more about Mayor Mufi Hanneman as he talks about his decision to run for public office and be of service to the community, having given up a prospectively lucrative career in sports. He even shares some impressions of famous people and leaves us with a song. This is the most different interview you will ever hear the Mayor in. Some questions asked: BIO: The Honorable Mufi Hannemann Mayor City and County of Honolulu City Hall is only a short trip from the working-class neighborhood of Kalihi where he grew up. But for Mufi Hannemann, the twelfth Mayor of the City and County of Honolulu, it has been a journey that has led him to careers spanning business and government, taken him to places far from home, and is now presenting him an opportunity to fulfill a long-held dream of serving Hawaii and her people. He was born Muliufi Francis Hannemann in Honolulu on July 16, 1954, the sixth of seven children of Samoan immigrants Gustav and Faiaso Hannemann. Mother cared for the children, while father worked at several jobs to support the family. Theirs was a spiritual and loving home where each day began and ended with prayer. He attended Fern Elementary School before being accepted to Iolani School. Always a top student, Hannemann’s physical stature also gave him a prominent place in sports. The 6-foot, 7-inch scholar-athlete would earn not only all-star honors for his basketball and football prowess, but lead the school as student body president. It was in high school that he was nicknamed “Mufi” by a local sportswriter, and it’s a name he’s kept ever since. His academic record gained him admission to Harvard University following graduation in 1972. His mother had always wished that one of her children would someday attend Harvard, and she lived to see her dream come true before her untimely death following Hannemann’s freshman year in Cambridge. Despite this deep loss, he held leadership positions in student government, lettered on the Crimson basketball team, and graduated cum laude in 1976. Following graduation, Hannemann was named a Fulbright Scholar and spent the next year studying at Victoria University in Wellington, New Zealand. Hannemann returned home to join the faculty and coach the varsity basketball team at alma mater Iolani. In 1979, he was tapped by Governor George Ariyoshi to be a special assistant on Pacific affairs. The governor’s office would serve as a launching pad for Hannemann’s career in government, business, and politics. In the summer of 1980, he was picked to be a special assistant in the U.S. Department of the Interior during the Carter administration. Hannemann later returned to the State Capitol, and in 1983 would be named a White House Fellow through a nationwide competition, have the privilege of serving with then-Vice President George Bush in the Rea...